The human body needs protein for growth and maintenance. Aside from water, protein is the most abundant molecule in the body. According to U.S. and Canadian Dietary Reference Intake guidelines, women aged 19-70 need to consume 46 grams of protein per day, while men aged 19-70 need to consume 56 grams of protein per day to avoid deficiency. This recommendation, however, is for a sedentary person free of disease. Protein deficiency can lead to reduced intelligence or mental retardation as well as contribute to the prevalence of diseases such as kwashiorkor. Protein deficiency is a serious problem in developing countries, particularly, in countries affected by war, famine, and overpopulation. Animal sources of protein, such as meat, are often a source of the complete complement of all the essential amino acids in adequate proportions.
The nutritional benefits of meat are tempered by potential associated environmental degradation. According to a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), entitled Livestock's Long Shadow—Environmental Issues and Options, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contributes widely to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. The production and consumption of meat and other animal sources of protein is also associated with the clearing of rainforests and species extinction. Accordingly, there is a need for a solution to demands for alternative to meat produced from live animals.
Foods such as chips (e.g., chips, crisps, puffs, crackers, jerky, etc.) are a favorite snack foods in the United States. Commercially available chips typically contain high amounts of fat and sodium, and imply high caloric intake. Excessive consumption may lead to increased health risks, such as of hypertension. For example, potato chips contain high caloric values, typically 150-160 calories (90-99 of those from fat) per ounce. Baked potato chips, advertised as a healthier alternative to conventional, fried chips, typically contain 120 calories, 18 of those from fat in the same serving size. High caloric intakes, when combined with a passive lifestyle, can contribute to obesity, hypertension and peripheral artery disease. In addition, traditional potato chips generally contain high levels of sodium, in amounts ranging from 7% to 8% of the daily recommended value based on a 2,000 calorie diet; a surprising amount, considering an ounce generally consists of less than 15 chips. High levels of sodium reportedly contribute to the emergence of conditions such as hypertension, which can lead to an increased risk of heart attack. Fried potato chips often contain high amounts of fat and saturated fat, from 10 to 11 grams of fat, 3 of those from saturated fat (representing form 15% to 17% of the daily recommended value based on a 2,000 calorie diet) per serving. The high fat content can pose a serious health risk, as high fat intake can lead to build-up of plaque in arteries, increasing the propensity for heart attack and stroke. Similarly, consuming excess fat on a regular basis may increase the risk of diabetes and obesity.
There is a need for a snack food, particularly one that may resemble the widely popular chips, that is high in protein, fiber and calcium, and low in fat. Although so-called “meat chips” have been proposed in the past, such products have proven expensive, lacking in flavor, and, which potentially high in protein, have also been high in sodium and fat, preventing these from being a valid alternative to traditional chips. Also importantly, such “meat chips” have been fabricated from animals grown and slaughtered in the same manner as most commercially available meats. As mentioned above, this is both environmentally problematic, but may also raise moral and ethical issues for consumers.
For example, crisp meat-based snacks that resemble potato chips or other carbohydrate-based snacks are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,363, which suggests a crisp fried meat snack formed by deep-fat frying a freeze-dried slice of meat. The freeze-drying is said to be critical to the crisp, chewable nature of the chip. Freeze-drying can be relatively costly on a commercial scale and deep-fat frying increases the fat content of the chips, leading to an expensive, high-fat snack. U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,993 proposes mixing meat or seafood with water and a 50/50 blend of potato and corn starch to form a dough that is cooked under pressure and sliced. The resultant slices are dried and deep-fat fried before eating. Frying lends the chips a flaky texture instead of the “hard, horny texture” of the dried chips. This product is high in fat (with fat contents of 30-40% suggested) and starch; this makes the chips less desirable to those controlling caloric and carbohydrate intake from snack foods. Others have posited approaches for drying sausage slices to make a snack food without having to fry the slices. U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,549 and U.S. Patent Application Publications 2003/0113433 and 2004/0039727, for example, suggest such processes. Most of these, however, are not well adapted to commercial-scale production of an inexpensive snack food and are limited to home-scale batches or expensive specialty products.
Described herein are dehydrated foods that may be formed as chips that address the shortcomings described above.